Arrow Battle With Ra's Part Deux
by mjf2468
Summary: Oliver goes missing following a mission. What has happened to him? Someone has come back from the dead for revenge. What are this enemy's plans for Oliver, and will Team Arrow find him before it is too late?
1. Chapter 1: Where is Oliver?

Summary: Oliver goes missing following a mission. What has happened to him? Someone has come back from the dead for revenge.

Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

 **AN: Yes, yet another Ra's story. Yes, I know. If you have returned, I guess you don't mind yet another Ra's story. So…. I am VERY, very happy you are reading this. I especially like this premise, but I have been stuck with how to proceed…but I have figured it out, thus why I am posting this first chapter.**

 **I am inserting this into canon, early season 4. Then I am going to change it.**

Oliver looked around the empty warehouse. How could their intel have been so wrong? John Baker was a criminal they'd been attempting to track for a month without success. Tonight Felicity had finally tracked down a very viable lead. They'd been so certain...but they were wrong. No trace of their quarry was found.

After she had agreed to accompany him out of town to "find himself", Oliver and Felicity had ended up living in Ivy City for four months. Four glorious months until Thea and Laurel had arrived, asking for their help with what they were calling "shadows", criminals who struck without warning and then disappeared without a trace. Criminals who they were getting no leads on, as to their overall objectives or who were their leader. So they reached out to Oliver for assistance.

Since their return, Oliver and Felicity also had only limited success in gathering any further intel upon their mysterious quarry, while keeping an eye on the rest of the criminal underground. Thus their supposed tracking of John Baker and tonight's unsuccessful mission.

As Oliver debated what to do next, Felicity notified them of a burglary in process and they rushed out towards the building's exit. Diggle and Thea rushed out of the building, Oliver right behind them. However, as Oliver was about to follow them down the last hallway towards the exit, his world became dark.

Consciousness slowly returned to Oliver some unknown time later, bringing with it a humongous headache. Oliver squeezed his eyes tightly as a spasm of pain threatened to split his skull. He slowly opened them before he realized he shouldn't. His failsafe maneuver of checking out his environment before opening his eyes didn't occur to him this time. He found himself looking at his surroundings sideways, and realized he was lying on his side. Checking the location of his arms, he wasn't surprised to find them restrained behind his back. A wave of dizziness hit, leading him to close his eyes again. Slowly opening them once more, he saw a pair of feet appear in his line of vision. After making sure the dizziness had passed, Oliver slowly looked up to see the face of the man with him, only to slowly shake his head to clear any possible remaining haziness. The person he thought he was seeing…. was it really possible he was indeed there in the flesh in front of him? Oliver struggled into a sitting position, attempted to gather any remaining dignity, and glared at the other man.

"Ra's. Why shouldn't I be surprised?"

Indeed, Ra's al Ghul, at least the Ra's al Ghul Oliver had fought five months ago, and supposedly killed, was alive and standing in front of Oliver. Wearing a blue sweater and jeans, looking like an ordinary business man on Casual Friday. Not dead, as Oliver had left him on the bridge five months ago. And apparently holding him captive. Again.

"Why aren't you dead?" The question came out of his lips unbidden. Oliver pressed his lips together in disgust as he observed a small smile grace Ra's' own lips at Oliver's question.

"You really believed I would meet you on top of the dam without a contingency plan in place in case you beat me? You are the type of individual who would have spent the previous months training to beat me. Why wouldn't I be prepared in case you were able to kill me?"

"So, you lined someone up to steal your body away to your Lazarus Pit. How was that possible, with Merlyn becoming the new Ra's?"

"Oh, Mr. Queen, please allow me some secrets. Let's just say I have more than one pit available, and neither my current successor, nor my daughter, were aware of all of them. Or other secrets, as well." Ra's walked a few steps to the other side of the doorway, he said, "Interesting development, I must say. Bestowing my ring upon Al Sa-her. Why did you do that?"

"As payment for his part in bringing you down, Ra's."

Stroking his chin, Ra's nodded. "Yes, I thought that must have been it. It must have totally killed you to make a deal like that with him."

"It wasn't exactly the most favorite thing I have ever done."

"How easy your life would have been, if only you had accepted my offer. Instead, you've spent these past five months torn by moral dilemmas and experiencing the disgust from all whom you hold dear."

"That only shows what you don't know. My friends forgave me for my supposed betrayals."

"But it took some time for them to forgive you, didn't it? And of course, your road trip with Ms. Smoak. I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly did, for it gave me the opportunity to prepare things back here in Starling for your return."

Oliver didn't like the sound of that, not at all. And, because of his headache, he was quickly losing patience with Ra's' games. So he asked a question he probably should've waited on, but asked anyway. "What are you doing, Ra's? Why am I here?"

A slow smile spread across Ra's' face. Cocking an eyebrow, Ra's said, "Not now, Mr. Queen. I will reveal more to you later. Just know that for now, you will be enjoying my hospitality for some time."

Oliver knew he didn't like the sound of that at all.

"And don't count on your team tracking you. We've removed all of your trackers."

A moment of doubt crossed Oliver's mind. Felicity had been quite clever in developing all sorts of trackers for the team. Any normal criminal wouldn't be able to discover them all. However, Oliver admitted to himself amidst a sinking feeling Ra's was no ordinary criminal.

"Can you at least tell me if we are still in Starling?"

Ra's acted as though he gave consideration to Oliver's question. Shrugging, he said, "I suppose I will answer one question for you. Yes, we are still in your city. For the moment."

Oliver watched Ra's walk to the doorway and turn around. "I'll leave you here for now, Mr. Queen. We shall talk later. You occupy yourself with trying to get out of those restraints. Good luck with that."

As the door closed, the key turned in the lock, and Ra's' footsteps faded, Oliver wondered what Ra's did have in mind. Was it to become his heir again? Oliver had worried there remained unresolved issues from the first time Ra's was around, and so he wondered if Ra's would try them again.

Sighing, Oliver decided to attempt getting out of the restraints, even though Ra's had insinuated it were impossible. He could tell he had iron manacles tightly chained around his wrists. Usually not as easy to get out of, but he's had some luck with them in the past. But, even if he successfully removed the restraints, he'd still be in this cell, without any lock picking equipment. One thing at a time.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~

Diggle and Thea had spent the time after preventing the burglary discussing how much they were dreading telling Felicity Oliver was missing. Especially since they didn't have any answers whatsoever to give her. They steeled themselves for the battle as they entered the Bunker.

"Where is Oliver?" Felicity asked as she watched Diggle and Thea enter the Arrow Bunker without their leader.

"We don't know, Felicity. One second he was behind us, and then he wasn't when we reached the exit. We backtracked our steps, and we couldn't find any sign of him anywhere. Or who might have taken him."

"How's that possible?"

"If we knew that, Felicity, we'd know who took him."

Felicity turned back to her computers, her fingers flying as she accessed various cameras and surveillance systems, sending all information through her facial recognition programs. She then turned her attention to turning on the program to find Oliver's trackers. She received an error message from one to the next.

"Damn! Whoever took him found all my trackers."

Dig said with a grimace, "That could mean we're not dealing with just anybody."

Several minutes later, Felicity cursed, using a few words Diggle hadn't yet heard her use. "Damn, whoever took Oliver is good. They even sabotaged the traffic cameras near the warehouse you guys were at."

"So…we have absolutely no idea who took Oliver?" Diggle asked.

Leaning back in her chair, Felicity exhaled. "Well, not yet. I'm still running facial recognition on all cameras city-wide. But so far, not yet."

Thea asked, "Do you also have a program checking into releases of any criminals who might be after Oliver?"

Felicity looked down her nose at him. "Always, always amazes me that you guys keep underestimating me."

Thea turned a little red. "Sorry, Felicity, I didn't mean to…."

She smiled at him. "It's okay, Thea. Just teasing." She looked up at Diggle. "Well, mostly. But I forgive you because it's Oliver and we all don't want no stone unturned."

Diggle bit back a smile. "Thea, let's go do a patrol, and see if we can pick up any useful intel about who is behind this."

Thea nodded. Felicity said, "Be careful out there," as they left and turned her attention back to her scans and computers.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~

Three hours later, Felicity said over the comms, "Guys, it's been three hours. I think you need to come in and go home."

Silence met her comment. Felicity sighed and rolled her eyes. _Stubborn vigilantes._ "Guys, I mean it. I know you don't want to, but if you haven't found anything yet, there's always tomorrow." Still silence. "Guys, we all know this was a long shot. Come in, please." Felicity waited for a reply, but still nothing. "Guys? Are you okay?"

Diggle finally answered. "Sorry, Felicity. We are…we're just frustrated." Several seconds of silence, then he continued. "Yeah, we're okay, and we're coming in. See you in a few."

Felicity sighed again and returned to her screens. Nothing changed. She rubbed her temples and tried to take a few deep breaths. _Oliver, where are you? What's happened to you?_

Her attention was drawn to the elevator as she heard it descend. She watched Dig and Thea walk towards her, shoulders drooping, fatigue clearly showing on each of their faces.

"Absolutely no luck. No buzz out there about any strange traffic or newcomers in the area," Diggle said.

Thea asked, "Any luck here, Felicity?"

Worrying her lip, Felicity leaned back in her chair and shook her head. "Nope. What the hell, guys? No major player has escaped or been out of prison, we aren't on any specific case right now, except for Darhk…"

"No, it can't be him, Felicity. He has no idea Oliver is involved. You two have just returned to Starling; he barely knows you two. There is no way for him to suspect Oliver," Thea said.

"Are you sure, with your run-ins with him, he doesn't have any idea or clue about us, at all?"

Thea shook her head. "No. Mainly because we have only come across the ghosts. We barely even know about this guy Darhk as it is."

Diggle sat down next to Felicity, rubbing his chin, his tell that he's about to say something he views as "out there". Felicity turned to him expectantly and waited. He said, "I don't know…this will sound crazy…but, Felicity, why don't you run facial recognition on past criminals who are currently, or as far as we know, dead." At her scoffing sound, he said, "I know it sounds crazy, but…with our past, with how things have turned up for us in the past…the idea just popped into my head."

"Anyone I should start with in particular?"

Diggle sat in silence, shaking his head. "Yeah, I know, crazy, but…why don't you start with Ra's."

Thea scoffed. "Ra's? I mean, he _is_ dead. Nyssa destroyed the Lazarus Pit."

Felicity looked at Diggle speculatively. "What are you thinking, Dig?"

"Well, among the stories I heard while in Afghanistan, there were stories about the League having multiple Lazarus Pits."

"What?" both female voices asked in unison.

"I know, I know. But…if we don't have anything else to go on, why don't you try that, okay?"

Felicity placed her hand on her forehead, scrunching her eyes tightly shut. "Urg. Why aren't our lives simple…just once?"

Thea shrugged. "Look on the bright side. It may not even be true."

Felicity shook her head. "Might not be. For once. But, something tells me, with the crazy world we live in, anything is possible." She breathed out a heavy sigh, straightened her shoulders and faced her computers. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she typed in the new request and then leaned back in her chair. Sitting back up, she said, "Well, if we are being crazy, I better put in the rest of the dead crooks as well."

 **AN: Well, there it is, another new story. We shall see where it goes. I think it could very well be another story of a confrontation between Darhk and Ra's, but we shall see. My muse has been kinda quiet regarding this story, so we shall see where she takes it, after telling all those other ones. Anyway, I thank you very much for taking time to read it, and sure hope you let me know by way of a review what you thought of it. Always most deeply appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2: A Visitor in the Lair

Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

 **AN: One bit of business…I decided to change canon in that Felicity and Oliver did get engaged before they returned to Star City, episode 4 x 1. Just pretend Laurel and Thea didn't show up until after Oliver popped the question and Felicity said 'yes'.**

Previously:

 _"_ _Well, among the stories I heard while in Afghanistan, there were stories about the League having multiple Lazarus Pits."_

 _"_ _What?" both female voices asked in unison._

 _"_ _I know, I know. But…if we don't have anything else to go on, why don't you try that, okay?"_

 _Felicity placed her hand on her forehead, scrunching her eyes tightly shut. "Urg. Why aren't our lives simple…just once?"_

 _Thea shrugged. "Look on the bright side. It may not even be true."_

 _Felicity shook her head. "Might not be. For once. But, something tells me, with the crazy world we live in, anything is possible." She breathed out a heavy sigh, straightened her shoulders and faced her computers._ _Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she typed in the new request and then leaned back in her chair. Sitting back up, she said, "Well, if we are being crazy, I better put in the rest of the dead crooks as well."_

It took several days, but Felicity found something which gave them answers, but not comfort.

"Diggle, Thea! Laurel! Found something you will not believe."

When they were reached her side, Felicity looked up at Diggle. "You were right for me to research criminals supposedly dead. In particular, Ra's."

Involuntary gasps came from both Thea and Diggle as they look on the screen to find a picture of Ra's al Ghul himself disembarking from a private plane.

"He was disguised, but with my new software I was able to remove the fake hair and mustache, and lo and behold, there's the man himself. Or should I say devil."

Diggle shook his head. "I know I was the one who suggested it, but I never would've bet I was right. So now, the tough thing to do…find him and Oliver."

"You think they're still in Starling? Don't you think he'd bring Oliver back to Nanda Parbat?"

"Not with my father firmly entrenched there. At least for now," Thea said, lips curling in disgust.

"Then it is a good thing I took care of him before I kidnapped Oliver," came a voice from the shadows.

Team Arrow turned as one towards the familiar voice, Diggle drawing his gun, Thea nocked an arrow in her bow and pointed it at the intruder, and Laurel got into a defense position with her bo-staff. They watched in trepidation as Ra's al Ghul stepped out of the shadows.

"Now, you really do not want to use those weapons or fight me. Because then Oliver will suffer the consequences."

"Where is he?" Diggle asked in a dangerous tone.

"Someplace where you'll never find him." Walking towards Felicity, Ra's said, "Congratulations for decoding that footage of me. Well-done, indeed, Miss Smoak. But please do not bother trying to find Oliver. For one, it will endanger his life if you try to find him, because I have your computer network bugged, so I can see all your keystrokes and know what you are doing. And I will not like it for you to try. Oliver wouldn't either. For two, you will _not_ find him, no matter how hard you try, so don't even bother."

Felicity had paled at Ra's' words. "What are you going to do with him then?" she asked in a small voice.

"Bring him back with me to Nanda Parbat, of course."

"But why? His home is here. He beat you; he killed you. He doesn't belong to you," Thea asked.

"Oh, child, that all does not matter. I have decided to take back what is mine, having killed the usurper who thought he could take my place, and bring my reluctant Heir back with me."

Thea choked at the mention of her biological father dead, while the rest of Team Arrow remained quiet, attempting to process that fact as well, but Felicity could only think about Oliver.

"But we are engaged to be married!" Felicity burst out, rushing towards Ra's so quickly Diggle was barely able to catch a hold of her before she could strike Ra's.

Ra's bestowed a look of condescension upon the struggling woman in Dig's grasp. "My condolences, Ms. Smoak. But he already is married. To my daughter."

"That is only by Nanda Parbat…law," Felicity finished softly, realizing exactly who she was talking to.

" _I_ am the law in Nanda Parbat. Whatever I say, goes. Thus, their marriage is legal and binding. And soon we will return to live in Nanda Parbat."

Diggle knew it was useless, but he still said, "Nyssa doesn't want to be married to a man."

"Her prior choices no longer matter. She understands what she has to do, and she _will_ do it. For the sake of the League. And her heritage." Ra's shook his head. "I only came here as a courtesy to advise you to give up the useless task of finding Oliver, and to tell you what his future will be. I do apologize you cannot say good-bye, but that is life."

Felicity took Diggle by surprise and grabbed his gun. Pointing it at Ra's she demanded, "You call your minions and tell them to bring Oliver here immediately, or I will shoot you right now where you stand."

Ra's simply shook his head sadly at her, as if she was a simple child failing to understand adult things. "Oh, child, I am sorry. I know the depth of your feelings, but like I told you in Nanda Parbat, it is time to tell him good-bye." Turing around he took several steps toward the stairs, and then facing Felicity again, he said, "And I will remind you, if you kill me, you also kill Oliver. So put down the gun, you foolish girl."

Felicity and the others watched in silence as Ra's walked up the stairs and out of the lair. Dig placed one hand on Felicity's shoulder and the other took the gun from her lax grip. She turned to him, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Dig, please tell me we didn't just let him leave. Why did we do that?"

"I'm sorry, Felicity, there was nothing we could do. We don't know where Oliver is, and Ra's has threatened his life if we do something."

Shaking her head, Felicity stumbled over to her computers. Her fingers flew as she attempted to find a lead to where Ra's was holding Oliver. Dig came over to her and placed his hands over hers. "Felicity, he said he can tell what you're doing, remember?"

"I don't believe that. My security is the best there is. There would be no way for him to sneak a bug into my system. No way."

"But he knew you found him on the surveillance tapes."

"He might have snuck in surveillance devices in here, or else he overheard us mention it before he let us know he was here. He appeared right after I said that about locating him."

"Well, if he does indeed have surveillance recorders in here, wouldn't he now know you're still hunting him down via your computer?" Thea asked reluctantly.

Her fingers stopping in mid-stroke, Felicity buried her head in her hands. "What are we going to do then?" the muffled question was heard. She then looked up at Diggle.

Diggle met Felicity's pleading eyes with a determined straightening of his stance. "Let's go. We need to get some fresh air and rethink this thing. Get our minds off Oliver." As the two women were about to say something, Diggle said, "Don't forget about those surveillance recorders here."

He bundled them into the van. "Let's go somewhere where they can't track us."

Felicity said in a glum tone, "But they probably have GPS on the van as well."

Diggle thought for a moment, then continued to back the van out of the parking lot. "We'll see how far that takes him."

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~

Diggle ended up driving them to the branch ARGUS offices. The group didn't have much to talk about on the drive. Felicity sat in stunned silence for most of the trip. She didn't know what to think. After believing Ra's was dead, never to bother them again, to have him rise from the grave and take Oliver, threatening once again to take him away from her permanently…practically blew her mind.

Once inside, and guaranteed that all ARGUS security measures, including those monitoring possible spy surveillance, were all in place, the group felt comfortable to talk freely once again.

"Do you think we're really safe here, Dig?" Felicity asked.

Lyla approached the group. "I know Ra's has you running scared, Felicity, but you must know he's no match for Waller and her security measures."

"I hope you're right," Felicity muttered.

Lyla patted her on the shoulder. "I understand. Why don't you guys follow me and we'll start planning on how we get Oliver back."

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~

Previously:

 _A slow smile spread across Ra's' face. Cocking an eyebrow, Ra's said, "Not now, Mr. Queen. I will reveal more to you later. Just know that for now, you will be enjoying my hospitality for some time."_

 _Oliver knew he didn't like the sound of that at all._

 _"And don't count on your team tracking you. We've removed all of your trackers."_

 _A moment of doubt crossed Oliver's mind. Felicity had been quite clever in developing all sorts of trackers for the team. Any normal criminal wouldn't be able to discover them all. However, Oliver admitted to himself amidst a sinking feeling Ra's was no ordinary criminal._

 _"_ _Can you at least tell me if we are still in Starling?"_

 _Ra's acted as though he gave consideration to Oliver's question. Shrugging, he said, "I suppose I will answer one question for you. Yes, we are still in your city. For the moment."_

 _Oliver watched Ra's walk to the doorway and turn around. "I'll leave you here for now, Mr. Queen. We shall talk later. You occupy yourself with trying to get out of those restraints. Good luck with that."_

Time passed slowly for Oliver. He was certain it was part of Ra's' plan, to keep him off-center. He was brought a small meal of meat, cheese and bread twice a day. He wondered what the game plan was. He kept busy with calisthenics and reviewing possible escapes plans, futile as it seemed. However, Oliver kept his mind sharp, always ready for any means of escape, should they occur. Unfortunately, none occurred. But Oliver kept hoping.

Three days later, Oliver woke up from a doze to find Ra's staring down at him. "So, are you finally here to talk?" Oliver asked, adopting nonchalance as he slowly rose to his feet.

"No, I only wanted to check on you. And to tell you I have informed your fiance to forget about you."

Oliver's eyes narrowed before he could stop them. He instantly regained the blank look on his face. "Oh? And why did you do that?"

"Because you will be brought back to Nanda Parbat to begin your married life with my daughter."

Oliver pursed his lips. He weighed the benefits of continuing to play the game with Ra's and irritating his nerves, or he can hopefully get Ra's to get to the chase. He knew continuing the game was the best choice to get information out of the man in front of him, but three days without much exercise or food was getting to him.

"A smarter man may continue to play word games with you, Ra's, but I'm getting way too tired of your games. Why are you still insistent with including me in your organization? I'm sure there are plenty of other men, as well as women, including your own daughter, who are just as talented, if not more talented, than me. Why not leave me alone and recruit one of them?"

Ra's leaned into Oliver until their noses almost touched. "Because you made it personal. You killed me. You presume to think you can walk away from me. No one walks away from me." He grabbed Oliver by the collar. "No one defies me and simply walks away. You have to pay." Ra's released his hold, and Oliver struggled to maintain his balance. "And you will pay. Your team has been warned against helping you, so you can't depend upon them. Better get accustomed to the thought of your new home in Nanda Parbat."

Oliver watched in silence as his captor walked out of his cell, not looking at Oliver as he closed the cell door. He walked out of the room, followed by two of his guards. Two other guards took their place on either side of Oliver's cell without looking or saying anything to their prisoner. Without anything else to do, Oliver sat down on the hard cement floor of his cell, his eyes remaining on the door through which Ra's had left the room, and wondered what it all could mean. And how he could escape it.

 **AN: I guess I lied in chapter one when I said I had this story all figured out. My muse, I do believe, is getting tired of coming up with endings for any more NP stories. She's great at developing beginnings, though. (What a bother she is!). So, I think if she continues to bug me with more beginnings of NP stories, I will leave them as drabbles and place them in my collection. Anyhoo, I think this story has a potential of being somewhat interesting, so I dearly hope you will continue to read as the chapters are posted. Again, like most of my stories, it will probably not be very long. But then again, you never know.**

 **And of course, any reviews would help motivate the Muse to write more, of course. Anyway, please return for the next chapter when I get it posted, and thanks again!**


	3. Chapter 3: Rescue at Hand?

Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

 **AN: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. Wasn't sure what I wanted to do with this story. However, at the last second so to speak, I got a possibly great idea for continuing this story. Thank you for returning. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Previously:

 _"_ _Why are you still insistent with including me in your organization? I'm sure there are plenty of other men, as well as women, including your own daughter, who are just as talented, if not more talented, than me. Why not leave me alone and recruit one of them?"_

 _Ra's leaned into Oliver until their noses almost touched. "Because you made it personal. You killed me. You presume to think you can walk away from me. No one walks away from me." He grabbed Oliver by the collar. "No one defies me and simply walks away. You have to pay." Ra's released his hold, and Oliver struggled to maintain his balance. "And you will pay. Your team has been warned against helping you, so you can't depend upon them. Better get accustomed to the thought of your new home in Nanda Parbat."_

 _Oliver watched in silence as his captor walked out of his cell, not looking at Oliver as he closed the cell door._

As his captor left his sight, Oliver thought over the interaction with Ra's. If only Ra's had something on him Oliver could've snatched to pick the lock of his cage. But…with guards constantly keeping watch over their superior, Oliver realized it wouldn't have done much good anyway. He probably couldn't have lifted anything from Ra's without being caught.

As always, Oliver was working desperately to keep himself alert and to not allow himself to fall into a depression, despite the grim predicament he was in. As he had found out in previous experiences, never letting his guard down was the key to escape. A person never knew when the opportunity would present itself. Even when things appeared hopeless. Because even though Ra's had threatened his team, Oliver knew his teammates well. Especially Felicity. Since they no longer were denying their love for each other, she wasn't about to simply let him go without a fight. He would bet his life on it. He rolled his eyes; he actually _was_ betting his life on it.

Oliver still had to wonder why they were still in Starling, if indeed Ra's was, in fact, reinstated Head of the Demon. Unless Oliver was being lied to, and they really weren't in Starling? That would be exactly the type of mind game Ra's would play on him. _Or…_ if Ra's was indeed lying to him about being reinstated, and they weren't headed for Nanda Parbat. Either way, Oliver was getting pretty tired of being a prisoner. And of Ra's' mind games. Something better break soon, or else he felt he would go crazy wondering.

To give his mind a rest, he decided to do another round of calisthenics. Lucky for him the cell was large enough to provide room for him to do exercises comfortably. Not letting his mind go off on another tangent, instead, he forced himself to empty his mind as he began several sets of push-ups.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~

Previously:

 _Lyla approached the group. "I know Ra's has you running scared, Felicity, but you must know he's no match for Waller and her security measures."_

 _"_ _I hope you're right," Felicity muttered._

 _Lyla patted her on the shoulder. "I understand. Why don't you guys follow me and we'll start planning on how we get Oliver back."_

Lyla led them into a small room with an oval conference table able to hold eight people. To Felicity's surprise, Amanda was sitting at the head of the table. The group stopped in mid-step, uncertain as to what to do.

"Please take a seat. We have much to plan if we are going to get Oliver out of this mess he's found himself in."

Diggle gave Felicity a small nod, and they all sat down and waited for Amanda to talk. Once she had gotten their undivided attention, Amanda began to speak.

"When Agent Michaels told me about what had happened to Oliver, at first I was reluctant to intervene. In the past, our way of dealing with the League of Assassins was to leave them alone, and they left us alone. As far as we know, they hardly ever entered the United States, so I left them alone. However, I cannot allow them to simply take a U.S. citizen from his home simply because Ra's wants to. Especially a citizen of such major prominence as a millionaire's son."

Felicity quickly looked down at her lap to hide the rolling of the eyes which she knew she wasn't able to control, and bite her inner cheek to prevent a laugh to escape. What malarkey! Of course Amanda was going to help Oliver. She owed Oliver quite a few favors. If she knew what was good for her, which she apparently had decided to acknowledge, she would help them get Oliver back.

"I will allow Michaels to bring a team to assist you in getting Mr. Queen back. However, if anything should happen, both ARGUS and the U.S. government will deny any knowledge of this endeavor. I do not want to disrupt our unwritten agreement we have had with the League of 'Live and let live' over the years."

Amanda then punched a button in the middle of a small console next to her and a thirty-something man with Chinese features brought in an inch-wide file and placed it at Amanda's right hand. "This is all the information we have on Ra's and on the League of Assassins. It should assist you in developing a plan of attack." She handed the file to Diggle, who nodded in appreciation.

Looking at the group, Amanda smiled without showing her teeth and rose to her feet. "I am sorry I do not have time to review the information with you personally, but I have another meeting. Michaels, I am confident you will keep me informed of any concerns."

Lyla nodded smartly and Amanda left. Lyla leaned back in her chair and smiled at the group. "Well, ask away."

"Ask what, Lyla?" Felicity was the first to get her words out.

"The questions you all have." She looked around the room, and was met with stunned looks. Lyla shrugged at the uncharacteristic silence from this group of individuals. "Well, I'll just answer then the questions that would normally be raised. I don't know Amanda's game plan for agreeing to this, but you better be sure we all should be thankful. I have read the info in the file, and it is fairly complete. And accurate. We have had intel given to us throughout the years on the League and Ra's specifically. Not as much as we'd like, of course, due to the nature of Ra's al Ghul himself, but still a surprisingly large amount, given the case."

"So, you don't think Amanda has an ulterior motive for agreeing to help us? Something devious for us to do in payment for this so-called favor?" Felicity asked, not bothering to hide either her bitterness or distrust.

Lyla shook her head. "No, I really don't think Amanda expects to hold this against you. Because of her history with Oliver, she knows something like that is useless. But it _is_ because of her history with Oliver that she agreed to this in the first place. I don't know all which had gone on between the two of them over the years, but theirs is a most interesting relationship, to say the least."

"Yeah, I bet," Felicity muttered. She then looked at her teammates, blushed and shook her head.

"So, do you have a plan on what we can do to get Oliver back?" Dig asked.

"Yes. Considering that we have intel saying they'll be leaving Starling tonight."

"Tonight? Then why the hell, Lyla, are we wasting our time here? We got to get Oliver out of there now," Diggle said.

Lyla raised her hand, palm down, in a placating motion. "It's being handled. Part of my team is already at the airfield monitoring the situation. Others are at the safe house where Oliver is being held. I should be getting final details on the plan any time."

"Lyla…so help me…you better tell us right now what your plan is, or I will…." Diggle began.

Lyla gave her husband a look whose significance was meant only for John. "Johnny, you know I care just as much about him as you do. We _will_ extract him safely." Lyla sighed and looked at the others. "Like I said, I'm waiting for a few more details before we leave. However, the plan is to rescue Oliver before they leave for the airport. However, I have a team at the airport just in case." Looking at the team, she shrugged. "Knowing how sneaky Ra's has been in the past I want to make sure we got every contingency covered."

Rising, Lyla said, "Wait here while I check on the status of the teams." Anticipating her husband's interruption, she turned to him. "John, I _will_ be right back." Dig simply smiled at her but didn't say anything as she left. He simply let out a sigh and sat back in his chair.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~

Unknown to Oliver, the building where he had been held for a week was in the outskirts of Starling, away from the busyness of the city. It had once belonged to a millionaire who enjoyed having vast amounts of space around him, but still could be in touch with city amenities.

ARGUS agents had arrived at the perimeter of the old estate, and had scouted it, ensuring it was safe to proceed. A team of five agents enter and approach the house. They obtained the intel that there were four guards maintaining the perimeter around the house, three heat signatures which they assumed were guards inside with another heat signature staying pretty much in the same spot. This was assumed to be the target, or Oliver. A fifth heat signature appeared to occasionally move around the house, but mainly stayed on the first floor.

Lyla and her operatives had decided they would, after surrounding the building, call upon Ra's to surrender. Due to the nature of the tenuous agreement between himself and the government, it was thought he would agree, rather than to risk an international incident. Since Ra's had spent most of his time avoiding being in such a situation, it was thought it was the smartest plan to get Oliver out without any loss of life.

Lyla and the rest of Team Arrow arrived at the site shortly after it had been confirmed that Ra's was indeed in the building. He had been spotted leaving for a short time. Unfortunately, he had lost the tail shortly upon leaving, so the team didn't know where he had gone. But it was confirmed that Ra's had returned an hour later, seemingly without anything in his possession.

Looking at the police cars gathered at the end of the building's drive way, Diggle shook his head in disapproval. "Lyla, surely Ra's and his army know we are here now. Why wasn't this carried out secretly?"

"We weren't going to go in and steal Oliver. Instead, we are showing our muscles and forcing him to let Oliver go."

"But…."

"As I tried to explain to you earlier, this is the only way to avoid an international incident, _and_ any bloodshed. Especially Oliver's."

"I don't know, I would think this sort of thing would lead exactly to bloodshed. _Especially_ Oliver's," Felicity offered, biting her lower lip in her anxiety.

Lyla smiled at her. "Trust us, Felicity. We know what we're doing." Turning, she radioed her team asking if all were in position. Receiving affirmation from all units, she took the bullhorn out. "Ra's al Ghul, we know you are in there." With no answer from the building, she continued. "Ra's, you cannot get out of here alive. We demand you release Oliver Queen right now."

 **AN: So, what's going to happen? Will there be a battle royale for Oliver? Or will Ra's give Oliver up, and why? Hope you will turn in to read the next chapter. And hopefully it will not take nearly as long to get the next chapter up. Especially since an entire new twist entered my brain (finally!) for this story, so quite a twist is planned. Let me know what you think of this chapter, and watch out for that new chapter when I get it posted. Thanks as always!**


	4. Chapter 4: Is it Over? No?

Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

 **AN: Thanks for returning, and thanks for enjoying this story so far. I had originally meant this to be the ending chapter, but a plot bunny came along with a fantastic idea…so I decided to go with it. The second half of this chapter starts that idea. Let me know what you think of it. Always appreciated!**

Previously:

 _Lyla smiled at her. "Trust us, Felicity. We know what we're doing." Turning, she radioed her team asking if all were in position. Receiving affirmation from all units, she took the bullhorn out. "Ra's al Ghul, we know you are in there._ _"_ _With no answer from the building, she continued. "Ra's, you cannot get out of here alive. We demand you release Oliver Queen right now."_

Fifteen minutes earlier, within the building in question, Oliver observed several guards rush into the building and up the stairs, to the floor where supposedly Ra's' private quarters were. He stood and walked to the bars, trying to peer through the bars to see if he can see what else was going on beyond the cage. Unfortunately the only window in the large room was located by the door, out of range from where he was. He couldn't get any hint as to what was wrong from anywhere in his environment.

Without warning, with a flurry of his long robe, and much noise, Ra's suddenly flew down the stairs, followed closely by his men. Ra's carefully approached the window and peered out. After muttering a few swear words in Arabic, Ra's turned to his men.

"Yes, it looks like we have company." Catching Oliver's eye, Ra's shook his head. "And I know why they are here." Slowly walking to the cage Ra's held Oliver's gaze captive. "Who would have thought they would chance an international incident over someone like you?"

"And here I thought you were impressed by me, Ra's. After all, if you weren't impressed with me, why did you offer me the League in the first place?"

A mirthless laugh escaped Ra's lips. "After all this trouble, I find myself wondering why I even bothered with the likes of you. And now this? Your country has the gall to challenge _me_ and my decisions?"

Oliver couldn't help himself; he backed a few steps away from Ra's, even though Ra's was nowhere near him, and the bars of the cage were between them. The anger rising from the man was truly frightening. Oliver wondered himself if he were truly worth the potential loss of life which might occur with the upcoming showdown to bring about his rescue. He looked at the man in question, watching Ra's' face grow even darker red in color. Oliver had serious doubts whether any sanity remained within the man. He wondered if he'd end up dying in the middle of a gun fight which could have easily been prevented.

"Well, Mr. Queen, your friends have some powerful friends of their own to call upon. I certainly did not expect that to occur."

"Ra's, why don't you just return to Nanda Parbat, and things can return to what they were before we met. I promise I will never cross your path again."

Lyla's voice floated over to them through a microphone. "Ra's al Ghul, you have received your final warning. Come out unarmed with your hands up and with Oliver Queen unharmed or we will start shooting."

Ra's grabbed the bullhorn from his assistant and approached a window. "What assurance do I have that you will let me and my soldiers go if we surrender to you?" he called out to the ARGUS agents outside.

"ARGUS only wishes to retrieve Mr. Queen. We then will continue our agreement with you of 'live and let live'. We will gladly escort you to the airport where you will then be able to leave in peace."

Ra's slowly lowered the bullhorn, clearly considering the offer. Making his way to the cage, he stood directly in front of Oliver.

Oliver looked at Ra's. "Sounds good to me, Ra's." A slap sending Oliver's head sharply to the left was the only response at first. Oliver was surprised by Ra's' agility and speed as he stood rubbing his cheek.

"If you were a wise man, Mr. Queen, you will refrain from further comment." Ra's walked a short distance up and down the space in front of the door considering the offer. He then walked over to the door, opened it and shouted through the bullhorn, "Ms. Michaels, you have a deal. I am tired of this worthless bag of bones anyway, and of this country of yours in general. We will now come out with Mr. Queen."

Oliver looked up as Ra's met his eyes. "You surprised, Queen?" Ra's asked. "If ARGUS is willing to risk an international incident over such as you, who am I to argue? I will simply have to be satisfied with having made your life very uncomfortable over the past two weeks."

Ra's walked over and opened the cage. Looking Oliver in the eye, he made a grand motion with his arm, extending it out in an arc. "You are free to resume your life here in your city. I will no longer make trouble for you."

Oliver, taking pains to walk as straight as he could despite the discomfort of his bruises and cuts, walked past Ra's without another word and out the door. He paid no attention to Ra's walking behind him as he walked towards the crowd waiting for him. At first, Oliver was blinded by the lights of the squad cars shining at the building. As he walked, there was a silence over the field. Suddenly a flurry of activity and blonde hair nearly knocked him over.

"Oliver, I cannot believe it. I'm so happy to see you. I thought you were lost to me, despite everything!" Felicity was able to get out despite the numerous kisses she was bestowing on his face, forehead, and lips.

"Honey, I've missed you too," Oliver was able to get out between her kisses. "But let me…."

Suddenly Felicity stopped and looked towards the ARGUS soldiers and her own team, watching them from a distance. Her face reddened, and she began to stammer. "Oh, I suppose I shouldn't have done that. But you see, we've been waiting so long to get together, and we weren't together very long and…."

Oliver decided to stop her babbling with a kiss of his own. This time they were interrupted by the man who had now stepped to the side of Oliver.

"Good evening, Ms. Smoak. I gather you are happy with the safe return of your fiance."

Felicity pulled herself out of Oliver's arms far enough to get leverage to provide a stinging slap across Ra's' face, who only smirked at Felicity. The two men watched as her lips fluttered as she attempted to decide what to say to the man who had threatened her happiness.

"You, I don't even want to talk to _you_. How _dare_ you try to threaten us _again_. I don't understand why you didn't learn your lesson the first time."

"Have no fear, Ms. Smoak, I will now take my leave, never bothering you again." Nodding towards Oliver, he said, "This one is not worth my trouble anymore. You are most welcome to him."

Felicity grabbed Oliver's left arm with both her arms and hugged it close to her. "I definitely plan on doing that very thing." Smiling sweetly up at Oliver, she asked, "Can we go home now? I'm tired of the present company."

As they walked away from Ra's, the rest of the team gathered around them. Meanwhile, Lyla approached Ra's.

"I trust this concludes our business, Ms. Michaels."

"As long as you never enter the United States or its territories ever again."

Ra's silently nodded, then turned and spoke in Arabic to his soldiers behind them. As a group, they all headed to the van parked outside the building. Lyla and several of her agents got into one of the SUVs, which lead the van. Another SUV with agents followed the van as the caravan made its way towards the airport.

Team Arrow watched them leave their sight. All the members had hugged Oliver and expressed their happiness in seeing him again. As a group they too walked over to some of the other vehicles to be brought back home.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~

Life for Oliver finally fell into a routine over the month after he'd been rescued. Despite himself, he did make a special trip to ARGUS, to specifically check on Amanda. Even though Lyla had very confidently stated there was no outstanding debt to be paid, by either Oliver or his team, for his rescue, Oliver knew better than to trust Amanda at face level.

However, it all seemed to be correct. Amanda, in her usual snide confident way, confirmed that what she had done she'd done out of a sense of debt towards all Oliver had done for her and ARGUS over the years. Oliver still was wary about it, until Amanda bestowed upon him a bone-chilling look and said, "However the very _next_ time a favor is asked, whatever it might be, I will expect payment of some sort. This rescue was indeed meant to bring us even."

Oliver nodded. "Thank you, Amanda." He then walked out of the room, followed by an ARGUS agent who would escort Oliver to the main entrance to ensure he would leave without further incident. Oliver denied the temptation to look back at her, not willing to give her the satisfaction. _If_ she even bothered to watch him leave, that is.

So, that matter being settled to his satisfaction, Oliver turned his attention to the usual matter of keeping Starling City safe. No major criminals taking up his attention, however, but that only added to his sense of well-being.

Until….

One evening he returned to the Lair after an early supper with Felicity, after which he had sent her home. Anticipating an early night, since nothing was happening at the time within the city, crime-wise, Oliver offered her the opportunity to catch up on some of her reading. Especially since the newest book by her most favorite author was out, and she'd only been talking non-stop about it for two months. He was happy he could give her the time off, and he had some things he planned to catch up on in the Lair.

Diggle had also been happy to take advantage of having a night off. Along with Lyla, he had decided that tonight was the night they were going to paint the nursery. For once, they both could be home. Oliver agreed as well, and wished them success. He himself shuddered at the thought; he hated painting.

So as he descended the stairs, Oliver's mind was anticipating Felicity's reactions to describing her book to Oliver once he got home later. Because of this rare preoccupation of his mind on other things, he missed a small scuff on the door jamb, which would have alerted him of something wrong in the lair.

Until he reached the bottom of the stairs, and the greeting of "Good evening, Oliver," met his ears.

Oliver assumed a defensive position, hands held in a classic karate move ready to take on an assailant, as his mind recognized the voice as belonging to someone who should have been thousands of miles away. Or dead. Depending upon what the former Ra's al Ghul had decided to do with his rival.

Indeed, it was Malcolm Merlyn. In their lair, once again, sitting in Felicity's chair. Oliver wondered idly if he knew it was Felicity's chair, and how angry the blonde would be at the criminal mastermind sitting there.

"What are you doing here, Merlyn?" Oliver maintained his defensive position, ready for any sudden movement Merlyn might choose to make.

Instead Merlyn smiled a more relaxed smile at Oliver than he could recollect ever seeing. "Don't worry, Oliver. I mean no harm." At the younger man's continued silence, he added, "I really don't," holding his hands out in a placating gesture.

"I'm surprised to see you alive. Ra's said he'd taken back the League, but he didn't tell me what he did with you."

A laugh escaped Merlyn's lips. "I'm hurt. You didn't care enough to ask?"

"I had other things occupying my mind at the time."

"Oh, yes, I know. Wondering why Ra's had captured you again, and how you were going to escape."

"So, you know." Oliver wondered why that should surprise him. Of course Malcolm would know.

"Well, I suppose, if I'd been in town, I would've helped your team get you back. But I understand, it really wasn't so difficult to convince Ra's to hand you back."

Even though he sensed it was the wrong thing to say, Oliver couldn't allow Malcolm thinking it was so easy escaping from Ra's. "It took ARGUS threatening him to do it."

Malcolm shook his head slightly from side to side. "That's what he wanted you to think." His characteristic smirk appeared on his face.

At the surprised gasp escaping from Oliver, Malcolm smiled broadly, leaned back into the chair and placed his feet up on the desk. "Yes, Oliver. Things really aren't as they've appeared. You should know by now with Ra's that's always standard operating procedure." As a confused expression crossed Oliver's face, Merlyn said, "Remember, the man likes to play his little games."

"Very funny. If you're telling the truth, then what does he have planned instead? Why go through that charade?"

A new voice joined the discussion. "It really was not a charade, Mr. Queen. I had meant to take you back to Nanda Parbat with me. As a means to help me."

Oliver's head spun to where the voice had come from. Indeed, Ra's al Ghul was also now standing in his lair. _Really? More 'guests' in the Lair? We definitely have to get better security for this place._ Oliver pulled a gun out of the drawer beside him at lightning speed and held it aimed directly at Ra's. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you, but it appears as though Al Sa-her had beat me here." Sneering at Malcolm, Ra's asked, "What _are_ you here for?"

Malcolm straightened his back, appearing to be formidable to his occasional rival. "I meant to warn Oliver about you returning. I guess I underestimated your ability to be able to reenter this country after being disbarred by ARGUS."

"ARGUS?" Ra's sniffed, indicating his disgust. "Waller's threats are meaningless. She only fools herself if she thinks she could ever outsmart me. I simply allow her to think she has the upper hand in our dealings. That way she is easier to handle." Clearing his throat, he sniffed at Malcom, then turned his attention back to Oliver. "I actually wanted you to help me take care of a certain matter. I had thought you might need some…shall we say, encouragement, to help me, so that is why I decided to…take you against your will, so to speak. But only to give us an opportunity to talk about…"

"Ra's, I don't know why you think I would ever help you with _anything_ , especially after being treated in such a way. I mean, really, why would you even think I would consider it?"

"Because it is Damian Darhk and he is threatening the entire world."

 **AN: Oh, how soon some of us forget and go back on our promises. I thought I was all done with writing about Darhk. Then this plot bunny came along and wanted to attach itself to this story, to change it into a battle royale between Ra's and Darhk. Something the show had hinted at, but never gave us. So now I am interested in developing this idea. So…we shall see where it goes. I hope you will return to find out what happens, and how that fight between the two villains will proceed. Thank you for reading, and hopefully reviewing, and see you next time.**


	5. Chapter 5: Ra's New Plan revealed

Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

 **AN: Sorry it's taken me so long to come back to this story. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it. Thanks for returning, and for all the reviews, favs and follows for this story.**

Previously:

 _"_ _Ra's, I don't know why you think I would ever help you with anything, especially after being treated in such a way. I mean, really, why would you even think I would consider it?"_

 _"_ _Because it is Damian Darhk and he is threatening the entire world."_

 _Damien Darhk._ Oliver considered the man in front of him, eyes narrowing as he searched for any sign of subterfuge in Ra's as Oliver ran the name through his mind. This mysterious Darhk, supposedly the one man who Ra's was seemingly afraid of, who he had been battling for decades. Now, now, instead of being Oliver's enemy, Ra's himself wants Oliver's help to defeat him? Oliver shook his head.

"You do recall what I had told you about him, Oliver?" Ra's' tone was that of a teacher, instructing a student who was failing to understand a concept. Kindly, but condescendingly all the same.

Did he remember? Of course, he remembered everything from that horrible time in Nanda Parbat. Now, the real question is why he's even considering helping the man in front of him. "Yes, I do remember. Even with what you told me, I don't know, Ra's. What could one man do to destroy the world?"

"Damien is no ordinary man. He plans to take over Starling to harness the celestial forces here, giving him even more power so he can take over the world. To recreate it into a new world order."

As Oliver was about to debate this, Ra's held up a hand. "Before you say anything, I know about your past on Lian Yu, and your interactions with Baron Reiter. You know what these forces are capable of."

"What does Reiter have to do with any of this?" Oliver asked, but a small nagging thought had appeared in the back of his memory, demanding attention which Oliver loathed to give.

"Darhk stole the idol from ARGUS and now is using it to harness its celestial energies for his own." Ra's said, as he took several steps forward. "He's collected what energies he could from other mystical places, and now has set his sights on Starling City."

Oliver had a hunch he knew what Ra's was talking about, but he wasn't too sure he wanted Ra's to know that. "What idol?"

"You would think you would have learned not to lie to me, Oliver. And that I can tell when you are lying to me. You know of which idol I am referring. The one Reiter had on the island." At Oliver's silence, Ra's said, "That is why your help is extremely important, and necessary, in this. Your past experiences with the idol and knowledge of how the energies are manifested would be most useful in this, and…you still have the tattoo Mr. Constantine gave you which protects you from being affected by such magic. Making you the perfect man for the job of taking him down."

Shaking his head, Oliver got up and began to pace. "Before we continue with this, can you explain to me why you couldn't have been straight with me? Asking me for help instead of yanking my chain, holding me prisoner? Talking about making me part of the League? Really, what _was_ that all about anyway?"

"Before I could devote my complete attention to this matter, I had to deal with my standing in front of my subjects. It took quite the beating my last interaction with you. I had to show I could beat you. Thus, your kidnapping and my threats against you." Ra's spared a look at Merlyn, who was smirking. "The small unrests which had begun have successfully been controlled. So now I can return my attention to the mater of taking care of Darhk once and for all." Sniffing at him, Ra's continued. "Plus, I must admit, I enjoyed having the opportunity to get a little revenge out of it as well."

"You are just flipping insane, that's what you are, Ra's. How do you expect me to work with you, especially after telling me that?"

Ra's looked at Oliver, a guileless expression in his eyes, and held up his hands. He shrugged and said, "I didn't expect you to hold a grudge."

A wordless cry escaped from Oliver as he turned and took an empty pop can and threw it at the wall. Ra's simply leaned back in his chair watching Oliver with an enigmatic smile on his face. Malcolm, his arms crossed, looked from one man to the other.

"Oliver, if I may interject, I like to remind you the Lazarus Pit often has a detrimental effect on the cognitive and sane parts of the brain." Leaning towards Ra's Malcolm said, "No offense meant, Ra's."

Smiling broadly at the man, Ra's stated, "None taken."

"So, you agree, Merlyn, Ra's is completely insane?" Oliver asked Merlyn, who simply smiled and nodded his head.

Oliver rolled his eyes at both men and brushed his hands through his hair. It took everything within him not to start pulling his hair out. Looking into Ra's' eyes, Oliver realized fully, for the first time, that the man truly wasn't sane. Whether he could be trusted, Oliver didn't know.

And with Malcolm? Again, Oliver wondered how far Malcolm could be trusted as well. And how sane he actually was as well.

"So, Merlyn, you are saying I should simply trust Ra's won't kill me after this so-called adventure is over, because his past behavior was a form…a form of insanity?"

Malcolm weighed Oliver's question then smiled. "Yes."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Plus, I'm supposed to trust you wouldn't end up stabbing me in the back, simply because you say you wouldn't?"

"Yes."

"Well, I always thought the both of you insane, and this simply proves it. To think I will risk my life to help you, either of you?" Exhaling loudly, Oliver continued. "Not to mention maybe I'm just a little tired of having to save the world, one more time. Maybe you should find someone else to do the work this time."

Even though he had made the comments half in jest, Ra's responded seriously. "Because, Oliver, you are uniquely qualified, with your abilities, experience, and knowledge to help us with this. Darhk is dangerous, and you don't want him running loose in the world."

"What can I do that you haven't been able to accomplish?"'

"He will be preoccupied this time in setting up his base in Starling. that is why this will work," Ra's said so matter-of-factly Oliver had difficulty reminding himself there was no proof supporting anything the man was telling him.

"Tell me why again you need my help? Why you can't kill Darhk without involving me?"

"I need to catch him unawares, and I can't exactly be seen running around Starling. You can."

Oliver again ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Why don't you tell me your plan before I agree to it."

Malcolm cleared his throat. "That's another reason why we need you, Oliver. We don't actually have a plan."

Oliver closed his eyes and scrunched up his eyes as tight as he could. _Did I hear what I thought I did? They don't even have a plan, but they think I can help them?_ Opening his eyes, he looked up to see the other two men waiting patiently for his reply. He shook his head, wondering if he was the crazy one. His team will certainly think so.

"If I find this to be one of your tricks, Malcolm…."

"I can assure you it isn't, Oliver."

Turning to Ra's, Oliver held up his pointer finger. "And you…you better start dealing with me on the level. No games. Because if you don't, not even the Lazarus Pit will be able to resurrect you."

Oliver swallowed the irritation which flared up in his throat as Ra's gave him another cocky smile in response to Oliver's threat. Choosing to ignore it, Oliver turned to Malcolm. "What's the next step?"

Looking at Ra's, to enlist his agreement, Malcolm said, "I believe we'll take our leave tonight, to allow your genius brain to come up with an idea on how to deal with this situation." After Ra's nodded, Malcolm continued. "We'll be in contact with you tomorrow. Because time is of the essence, I encourage you to bring your team up to speed and brainstorm for a game plan as soon as possible."

Struggling to keep his voice calm, Oliver gritted his teeth and replied, "I will, as soon as it is a more decent hour. Tomorrow."

Malcolm nodded, then suddenly a cloud of purple mist covered the Lair. When it cleared, both Ra's and Merlyn had disappeared.

Oliver rolled his eyes, and sent a text to Dig, Thea and Laurel, setting up a team meeting in the Lair at 9am the next day, sending a copy to Felicity as well. He began to shut down the computers with a heavy heart and determined to think about the entire mess tomorrow and get some rest. He headed home to Felicity.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~

Oliver arrived at the Lair at 7am. He had wanted to exercise, wearing off his apprehension before he informed his teammates of their next big mission. That they were needed once again to save the world, which entailed pairing up with their two biggest enemies. And the biggest hurdle of all, informing Felicity. When he had arrived at their apartment last night, Felicity was sleeping and didn't wake when he snuck into bed. This morning he was 'lucky' again when he again snuck out to the lair. However, depending upon how Felicity will react to all of this, he may not think it so lucky after all.

Felicity and Diggle arrived at the same time. He couldn't help the smile when he heard Felicity's voice in another of her characteristic babbles, updating Diggle on the newest show she had started watching on Netflix. However, the smile disappeared when the blonde spitfire turned upon Oliver as soon as they had gotten to the computer desk.

"What is this all about, Oliver? And why didn't you wake me up last night, or this morning? Have you been avoiding me? And why?"

Diggle threw a sympathetic glance to Oliver, who shrugged his shoulders slightly. He turned to his girlfriend and placed his arms on her shoulders. "I didn't mean to give that impression. I…I just wanted some time to think about what happened before I told you guys."

Before she could reply, Laurel came bounding down the staircase, her heels clattering on the stairs. "Sorry I'm late. Just got back from Central City visiting my mom. So, what's up?"

Felicity turned to her. "Yeah, we're wondering that as well." Pulling out of Oliver's grasp, Felicity folded her arms across her chest, saying, "I guess you now can tell us. We're all here now."

Oliver cleared his throat. In his nervousness, under the glare of his girlfriend, he forgot he had also texted Thea. "I had several unexpected visitors in the Lair last night."

"What?" Felicity and Laurel asked simultaneously. They each could tell, from the way Oliver made the statement, the news wasn't good.

Oliver swallowed, inhaled forcefully, and said, "First Malcolm, then Ra's showed up."

"What the hell did they want, Oliver? Haven't they made our lives, especially yours, bad enough?" Dig asked.

Laurel swore under her breath, and Felicity threw up her hands and sat down in an empty chair. She stared at Oliver, waiting for his reply. When it didn't come, she asked, "Well, what did the scum buckets want now?"

"It seems like the enemy Ra's had told me about last spring, a man named Damien Darhk, is intent on destroying the world."

"And what, Oliver? These two are supposedly on the good side now?" Diggle asked.

Laurel rolled her eyes. "We need a scorecard to keep track of what side that asshat Merlyn is on from minute to minute."

Felicity gave Laurel a high-five. "Good one, Lance!"

Oliver coughed at their hijinks. "It seems Darhk has this…um, magical idol I had first seen, on the…."

"Let me guess," Diggle said with a growl. "On that damn island."

"Sometimes I think God is trying to tell you there were many reasons, for the good, why you were on the island in the first place," Laurel said. "That's why there's always a connection to it." At Diggle's scoff, Laurel added, "Well, it _could_ very well be a reason for it."

Felicity was bouncing in her chair. "What does this all have to do with those two scum buckets?"

"This magic totem, supposedly can be used to gain magical powers strong enough to overtake the world. Ra's wants to beat Darhk, because of this long-lasting feud they've had for centuries. Merlyn claimed he initially wanted to warn me about Ra's' intent, but he also wants to save the world, for Thea."

As soon as he mentioned her name, Oliver realized he hadn't seen his sister. "Wait a minute. Where _is_ Thea anyway?"

They heard the door open. "I'm here, I'm here," Thea said as she rushed to join them. "What's going on?" Catching her brother's glare, she asked, "What? Sorry I was late. My alarm didn't go off. You're lucky I made it here at all. I think I was sleeping the sleep of the dead."

A shiver went down Oliver's back when she said that. He shook his head to clear it and to bring himself back to the main purpose. He wondered why this was being so difficult, especially when his mind felt scrambled after last night's encounter. And now he had to put up with all of this as well? He forced a burst of irritation down, not allowing it to enflame his temper. Instead, he brought Thea up to date, and then continued.

"They want me to come up with an idea on how to stop this Darhk, because of my familiarity with the idol, and how these powers are work."

"Is there a connection with Ra's trying to kidnap you last month? What was that all about?" Felicity asked.

Oliver's lips twisted in a sneer of disgust. "Yeah, Ra's claims he wanted to 'persuade' me to help him, and he didn't think actually coming out and asking me directly would be effective. He also wanted to get me back, supposedly, for beating him in our fight at the dam."

"Imagine that," Diggle said, with a tone as dry as the desert of Nanda Parbat.

Thea glared at her brother. "You told them no, right? Because one, how the hell can we trust the two of them? Especially Ra's. Two, I think we're all tired of always having to try to save the world. Three, you deserve a rest."

Felicity agreed. "You know she's right, Oliver. You did tell them no, right?"

Oliver looked at them with his 'I-have-something-to-tell-you-you're-not-going-to-like' look on his face. All his teammates groaned. He shrugged, saying, "I told them we will help them". And prepared himself for the onslaught of protests.

He was met with a chorus of " _We_?"

 **AN: What do you think? You think Oliver will survive his teammates' anger? Are you enjoying this twist? I hope so. Thanks for reading, and hopefully you will take the time to let me know your thoughts of this AU, and Malcolm's and Ra's' partnership. Always appreciated.**


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